


midnight in the garden

by oiyukis



Series: Rapture [1]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Dubious Morality, Established Relationship, M/M, Manipulation, Unseelie Court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:38:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oiyukis/pseuds/oiyukis
Summary: “Home,” he meant to say, except he still felt full of sugar and starlight and what came out instead was “Hakuryuu.”





	midnight in the garden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [orsaverba](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orsaverba/gifts).



> For Chi, part of the train of prompts that will be incoming who-knows-when. Tagged for Dubious Mortality bc consent happens under the influence of faerie liquor, but 'Unhealthy Relationship' felt too much like a given when Unseelie Court and the other tags were all already up there.

_❧_

_“We must not look at goblin men,_  
_We must not buy their fruits:_  
_Who knows upon what soil they fed_  
_Their hungry thirsty roots?”_  
Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti

 

❧

 

Judar had stumbled off the path several times now, the undergrowth that framed the walkways nipping his toes when he got too close. He’d lost his shoes somewhere between dinner and dancing, lost his sobriety somewhere between the appetizer and dessert, lost his phone—useless with this much Fae magic around, but helpful for when he needed to get home—lost the cash he’d tucked in his back pocket, lost the bracelets on both his arms, and he wasn’t having fun anymore.

He’d refrained from eating despite how good the feast had looked and how hungry he was, but he’d accepted a few thimbles of saccharine wine, sucking the nectarous liquid from the sharp holes in the silver the way Hakuryuu had demonstrated. It hadn’t seemed particularly safe at the time, but it had been enchanting, watching Hakuryuu press the silver trinket to his mouth and suck out the juice until his tongue was stained raspberry. When Hakuryuu had offered one to Judar, he’d taken it, and then another, until he’d lost count of how much silver he’d kissed.

They’d parted ways then, Hakuryuu sweeping off to deal with whatever it was important kings dealt with at faerie revelries. Judar had stayed at the table until the elaborate candles were snuffed. One of the Willow-Women had pulled him into a throng of writhing bodies (had there been any music? Judar couldn’t remember) and spun him around while he tried to count the pixies that were living in the tall branches of her head. He’d wanted to ask if that sort of relationship was symbiotic but his brain and his mouth didn’t want to work together. He’d gotten his answer anyway, later, when he’d caught a glimpse of her stuffing one of the small creatures into her too-wide mouth.

A few dances had turned into hours of moving and flowing with the crowd of the revelry. He hadn’t taken anything after the drinks from Hakuryuu but the soft-buzz feeling in his head was only getting worse. He’d thought in a brief moment of clarity that he could still feel the ambrosial wine in his stomach, that the thimble Hakuryuu had passed from his lips to Judar’s hand had been red with something other than faerie liquor. He’d left the dancing garden then, stumbling down a forest path that led away from the lights.

Judar cursed under his breath when his bare foot collided with unyielding metal. He spent a few moments in the dark angry at whatever he’d kicked, angry at himself for shirking Yunan’s warning about the way the night would end (in fact Yunan had said, “You’re not going”, which was ultimately one of the two reasons Judar went anyway; that, and Hakuryuu), and angry at Hakuryuu for inviting him to this stupid party and disappearing after dinner. He waved his hand around the air for a moment, feeling out for whatever he’d kicked. It felt a lot like a park bench, so Judar made himself comfortable on his back and stared up at the dark sky. He could still see the stars even though the moon was out of sight. That was no-moon? New-moon. His tongue felt like honey.

He must have drifted off at some point because his next clear feeling was a cold hand on his forehead. “Mortal children shouldn’t be wandering here alone,” a haunted voice said. Judar opened his eyes, squinting through the darkness until he could make out the vague shape of a veil. His heart seized in his throat for a moment, blind panic, at the death omen hovering at his side. He’d never heard one speak, and he’d never seen one alone like this, they traveled in groups of three or four. Unfortunately Judar’s knowledge proved right. There were three others covered from head-to-toe in wispy veils standing behind the bench. He could only see the outline of their heads because of the twig-crowns holding the fabric tightly in place.

Hakuryuu had told him to avoid them once, casually, over indulgent little cakes. He hadn’t said much else on the matter, pushing bite-sized pieces of succulent bread into Judar’s mouth and leaving his fingers there until Judar licked them clean.

“Poor little lamb,” one said.

“Poor lost soul,” the one at Judar’s feet crooned.

“Come away with us,” the last one said, “and we’ll take lovely care of you.”

Judar squinted up at them. In the dark they all looked like menacing specters, featureless and elegant. They weren’t supposed to be talking to him, right? Hakuryuu was supposed to take care of this kind of thing. That was their deal, shaky as it was.

The one touching him shifted their hand to brush through his hair. It sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine, like being doused in ice water without returning him to his senses. “Where do you want to go,” it asked, “lost little child?”

“Home,” he meant to say, except he still felt full of sugar and starlight and what came out instead was “Hakuryuu.”

Judar was on his feet in a sudden rush, the movement churning his stomach. He was kept upright by the veiled beings, led back up the path toward the revelry. He blacked out at some point, or stopped registering what he was seeing, and when he came to he was being carted through the dancing crowd by one of the Thistle-men that made up Hakuryuu’s elite guard. He looked around, licking sugar from his lips. “Where’d they go?”

The guard didn’t speak. None of them ever did. He led Judar silently from the dancing garden, back through the clearing where the tables were still overrun with food from the feast. There were humans here, signing their lives away through their stomachs. A faerie with berries growing in her hair was sitting at the edge of the long table, a human on their knees before her and eating a rotten plum from her hand. Another with a wicked-lovely smile and half-circlet of thorns in his inky hair was persuading a young Nix to set aside the harp he was strumming, long fingers sneaking up the Nix’s bony ankle.

The guard led Judar steadfastly through the scene, to the start of the path Hakuryuu had taken when he’d disappeared from the feast.  It was longer than the other paths in the forest, narrower too. Judar bumped shoulders with the guard until they reached what looked like a large tent. If Judar had taken the time to study it, and could see in the dark, he would have thought it looked a lot like a wedding tent. It was the right color, and the right size, but closed off on all sides to keep its occupant’s privacy intact.

“What’s that?”

Instead of answering, the guard turning to Judar and held out his hand. There was a closed-thimble resting upright in his palm, a dark liquid inside.

Judar crossed his arms and leaned back on one foot.

He didn’t see Hakuryuu approach, but suddenly slender fingers were taking the thimble from the guard’s palm. Hakuryuu waved the guard away, leading Judar into the tent by the small of his back. It was fit for royalty inside, plush-looking curtains hanging from the ceiling along each wall, a porcelain tub in the far corner, a large bed standing in the center, big enough for three or four people to fit side-by-side. That was where Hakuryuu led him, pushing him gently until Judar was sitting on the edge of the comfortable mattress.

He held out the same thimble. “You should drink this.”

“I’ve had too much,” Judar might have murmured, or he might have said nothing and just stared dazedly at Hakuryuu’s face. Hakuryuu was projecting a half-glamour, but most of his true form was showing. His eyes, glamoured ice gradient, were breathtaking, his white hair long and soft. Judar could only see two arms, but he knew Hakuryuu had four.

“It will make you feel better.”

Judar tilted his head, or it lolled to the side. “Will it really?”

“No.”

Judar worried the tip of his tongue with his teeth. He took the thimble from Hakuryuu’s palm, looking down at the dark liquid. “Is it wine?”

“No.” Hakuryuu slid his fingers up Judar’s arm, holding his wrist. He traced feather-light lines along Judar’s hipbone with the others.

Judar brought the silver to his lips, sucking. If there was a difference in taste to what Hakuryuu had given him before, Judar couldn’t tell. It sat thicker on his tongue, slid sweeter down his throat. He ran his tongue along its sharpness, whining unhappily when it cut into his tongue. His eyes sprung with tears as his mouth filled with coppery red.

Hakuryuu cupped his face then, coaxing him into a deceptively soft kiss. Judar submitted to it happily, opening his mouth so Hakuryuu could push his tongue inside. This was good. It was why he’d come. Hakuryuu and his court were dangerous, like open flame. Every moment Judar spent with him was a step closer to the heat.

He whined unhappily when Hakuryuu pulled away, but was mollified when Hakuryuu went for his neck. Judar arched underneath him, snaking his arms around Hakuryuu’s shoulders, then grabbing at the sheets when Hakuryuu moved down and out of his reach. Judar exhaled sharply when Hakuryuu tugged his pants down to his thighs. He wiggled his way out of them completely as Hakuryuu worked off his shirt.

Hakuryuu stared down at him until Judar rocked intently against him. He moved back down, sucking red patches into Judar’s thighs. “Hakuryuu,” Judar keened. He lost his breath again when Hakuryuu stroked his arousal with soft fingers, nipping softly across his navel. He moved his hand to Judar’s hip, smiling against his skin when Judar groaned at him. He kissed his way to the opposite side of Judar’s body while he held him down, leaving an angry wet trail in his wake.

There, Hakuryuu sunk his teeth into Judar’s hip, pushing his tongue against the fresh bite as he withdrew again. Judar groaned weakly, chest heaving. He couldn’t tell anymore what felt good and what didn’t. It all blurred together, the nectar resting sweet in his stomach. Hakuryuu moved at some point, leaving the bed. The next time he put his hands on Judar he had four of them, two for Judar’s waist and one for holding his weight.

The last he put over Judar’s chest, pressing firmly against his sternum. “I want to be inside you,” Hakuryuu said. His eyes were midnight suns, innumerable universes glimmering in their depths, and Judar was drunk but he wasn’t so drunk that he couldn’t tell Hakuryuu was talking about two different things.

Hakuryuu trailed the hand from Judar’s heart to his stomach, easing up the pressure but not so much that Judar’s air didn’t come up a little short. “I’d like it to be here, I think. Or,” he pushed two fingers against the skin between one of Judar’s ribs until Judar squirmed, “here.”

Judar gasped a little then, trying to picture what that entailed. He thought he might like that, having a piece of Hakuryuu with him wherever he went. Hakuryuu’s talents tended toward the macabre as far as Judar knew. Yunan had names for them all: necromancy, hemomancy, visceromancy. Judar wondered what kind of magic Hakuryuu specialized in, if it was any of the ones Yunan had warned him about.

But Yunan was a far thought from his mind. Judar found he didn’t really care about how Hakuryuu did it as long as he did it.  He swallowed thickly. “Does it hurt?”

“Yes, but,” Hakuryuu ran two of his hands up and down Judar’s sides, “I can make you forget.”

Judar licked his lips, tasting salt and blood. “Okay.”

“You have to ask for it.”

Judar squinted up at him.

“You have to be willing. It can’t be forced.”

“It sounds permanent.”

Hakuryuu stilled for a moment. Judar imagined he was thinking over his responses carefully. “If you decide tomorrow that you never want anything to do with me, you’re still tied to my people. You spoke with them, reveled with them. You already belong to them.”

“Is it permanent?”

Hakuryuu kissed him again, harder this time, pressing down against him and whispering “yes” against his lips.

“But I’m already tied to you?”

“To the Court,” Hakuryuu hissed, suddenly sounding like the monster Yunan made him out to be. “I don’t want you to be _theirs_ , I want you to be _mine_.”

“I want to be.”

“Ask for it.”

“Please,” Judar groaned. “Mark me. Make me yours. I want to, Hakuryuu, _please_.”

All four hands descended on Judar as Hakuryuu leaned down, swallowing the words from his lips. He held Judar’s face while he kissed him deeply, biting at his tongue and lips until Judar’s mouth was aching. Hakuryuu pulled back, his knees digging into Judar’s sides where the bed dipped beneath them. He licked his red lips, tracing one hand down Judar’s chest while the other three held him down. “I love you.”

Judar breath caught in his throat. Not even faerie kings could tell lies.

Hakuryuu curled his fingers above Judar’s navel, smiling kindly. “Don’t forget that,” he said, right before he sunk his nails into Judar’s stomach.

 

❧

 

The revelry was just dying down as Hakuryuu returned to the dining table. He began to fill his plate with soft bread and meat, taking bites for himself every few moments. It wasn’t often he used such strong magic, but his need to recharge would be nothing compared to Judar’s when he woke.

“I take it things went well?”

Hakuyuu was sitting on the other side of the table, speaking to Hakuryuu but watching a young Nix fix himself up.

“I believe they did, though I suppose I won’t know until he wakes up.”

“Did you tell him what you were doing?”

Hakuryuu paused, inspecting the peach in his hand. “Mostly.”

“Mostly,” Hakuyuu repeated. He shook his head amusedly, fiddling with his thorns. “He’s not going to be happy with you when he finds out.”

“It won’t matter. He can’t leave.” Not after Hakuryuu had carved possession into Judar’s ribs, one kindly symbol after another until he’d written himself into Judar’s bones. “He belongs in the Underhill now, with me.”

Hakuyuu plucked a grape from one of the overflowing baskets, rolling it between his fingers. “Your love is a scary thing, little brother.”

Hakuryuu straightened, his tray abundant with Judar’s favorite foods. “It’s not so different from yours.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, horribly lovely. Hakuryuu broke away first, turning back toward the narrow path. “I don’t want to leave him alone for too long.”

“Go,” Hakuyuu waved him off. “Be gentle with him if you can. He’s only human, after all.”

But not entirely, Hakuryuu thought to himself as he returned to his sleeping lover. Not anymore.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If I did have to name Hakuryuu's ability, it would be something like osteomancy. The term "thistle-men" is borrowed from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. Title is from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.


End file.
